Hard-Style Chocolate Ice Cream
Thick and perfect for hard-ice cream fans, this chocolate ice cream gives a rich chocolate flavor for when you want something a bit more special than the store-bought kinds!
Welcome to Ice Cream Week! I am super excited that today is finally the starting day for sharing all kinds of yummy ice cream and treats! I will be sharing a variety of ice creams from national favorites to seasonal specials all this week. I hope you have your ice cream bowl ready, because it is going to be a sweet week ahead!
While deciding what types of ice cream to make for this week, I knew that I wanted to cover the basics with this first Ice Cream Week. As fun as it is to have ice creams that incorporate two or more flavors in a undeniably delicious way, I wanted to also have the basic foundational ice creams as well. Next year you can expect some more wild and fun flavors ;)
Chocolate ice cream is a national favorite, according to basically every single site I found online. It is one of the top 3 flavors in America, so I knew that I needed to pay homage to this special treat. The great thing about a plain ice cream that does not have any add-ins is that it then can become completely customizable when it is in your bowl! Want some mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, or crushed candy bars? Put them in your bowl and you can mix it yourself. Or use this ice cream in another fun treat- I will show you how later this week! :)
This ice cream has a solid flavor that is able to be enjoyed by itself straight out of the freezer, but I prefer to let it sit out for a little bit so that it can get a bit softer before I eat it. That way, it becomes a tiny bit melty and I am able to enjoy it all the more- I am a complete soft-serve lover, so hard ice creams are generally not my first pick. For those of you who do like hard ice creams, this will be perfect for you! You will need a bit of strength to get the ice cream out of the bowl when it is fresh from the freezer, but it is not too difficult.
The recipe is easy to make- it just needs a bit of time to cool down after being cooked. And then once it is cooled and chilled, it just needs to be in the ice cream maker and you are all set! Although I did not try this, I bet that this ice cream base would work very well as a popsicle. If you have a popsicle mold, try it out- it would seem similar to a fudge popsicle but you can feel better about it because you know you made it yourself!
Hard Style Chocolate Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon water
3 cups milk, divided
3 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can nonfat sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces chopped unsweeted chocolate
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
Directions:
Make sure that your ice cream freezer bowl is completely frozen before starting this recipe!
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and stir to combine. Let sit.
Pour 1 1/2 cups milk into a large saucepan along with the cocoa powder and chopped chocolate.
Heat the milk mixture over medium heat until it is steaming; stir occassionally.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Gradually pour the hot milk mixture into this bowl to temper the eggs, whisking the entire time until it is all blended.
Put the entire mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until the back of a wooden spoon is coated with the mixture. You do not want this mixture to come to a boil.
Strain this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large clean bowl, and add the gelatin; whisking until melted. Whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk and let the mixture stand until not so hot, about 30 minutes.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
When ready to make the ice cream, turn on the ice cream machine and stir the ice cream mixture. It should seem very thick. With the ice cream machine already running, pour in the ice cream and let it freeze, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the machine and store in the freezer.
**This recipe is adapted from EatingWell. All of the photographs are copyright Rooks to Cooks.
Posted on 7/21/14 by Kiley
Looking for more ice cream? Check out these flavors below!